


What Frees You

by Otempura



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Bad Wolf, Clara finds the Doctor, Clara hates getting left behind, Clara isn't a damsel, Clara will find the doctor, Romance, Sex in a TARDIS, The Tardis Helps, Time Stream, Time Travel, and she will knock him over the head for leaving her, find yourself, lonlieness, transcendence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 15:12:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2737256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otempura/pseuds/Otempura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started out like any journey would; She started out like any companion does, and yet they both became so much more than they ever believed they could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Frees You

**What Frees You**

**Otempura**

Synopsis: It started out like any journey would; _She_ started out like any companion does, and yet they both became so much more than they ever believed they could.

* * *

 

He found her and was saved; the monotony ending in a whirlwind of color as life was returned to him. To think that he had allowed himself to forget this rush of a feeling, this adrenaline pumping through his veins urging him to explore, to witness life around him and all bask in the sweetness of those short lived creatures he meets on the way.

_Those short-lived creatures…_

Sweet, sweet Clara: his impossible girl. The very one to kick start his life after the agonizing loss of dear Amy, the first face his face saw. From Soufflés to Victorian London she was there to save him, first from the Daleks and then himself. He almost went mad when he witnessed her fall and disappear into the white winter beyond and yet… If she were really to die in Victorian London, then how could she possibly have saved him in the Dalek Asylum?

He found her again, or rather for the first time in a long time _he_ was found and how refreshing it was that the one he was seeking stumbled upon him first!

And so there they started their journey together and the longer they spent together the fonder his hearts grew, almost to bursting. Painfully even, as day after day the pangs grew stronger with every flippant remark she threw to him, every amused smirk and astonished laugh he drew from her.

Clara was his tiny impossible girl with her happy smirk and bigger than life personality who would take on all of space and time with him, would be friends with him forever.

 _But… the doctor does not like endings._  

The fonder his hearts grow, the more he can feel darkness creeping in. The longer they spend together the more certain he grows: this life will kill Clara. The unending fear of losing her puts lead in his stomach and a phantom knife straight through his chest. How many times had Clara died already, and he not able to save her? Could he bear to lose the one he had managed to save and keep with him?

_And so the doctor did what the doctor always does… He forgets. He pushes her memory to the furthest part of his mind and leaves her standing by herself in front of her apartment with dread filling her and a certainty that he would not return._

 

* * *

 

“I swear, when I find that man I am going to give him several pieces of my mind!” She glared at the ground, as if it were to blame for her current state. On second thought, that might not be far from the truth. Marching through a particularly marshy area of Castrovalva with a backpack full of heavy supplies she could say that the ground, being even a bit marshy, could hold some blame for her current state.

“Calm down sweetheart, I’m sure we’re almost there.”

_Ah. Jack._

She picked up a stick, and hit him with it.

“Don’t sass at me! I’m quite entitled to a little bit of anger. Why do you even think the Doctors _here_ in the first place?” She griped.

It took one year exactly for Jack Harkness of Torchwood to find her moping about London. It took not even half a minute to convince her to come with him to their headquarters. With promises of technology that could help her locate the Doctor, how was she supposed to refuse?

Jack squinted at her. _Squinted._ She really did hate that man’s squinting; she hit him with the stick again, for good measure, “Weren’t you ever taught not to make faces at people? Eyes front and answer the question please.”

“I know he’s here because he told me he was here,” He sighed, “When I was traveling with him and Rose. They’re the ones who picked me up, back when I was in London the first time and they’re the reason I was in London when I found you. The Doctor does tell some of the most interesting stories and I distinctly remember him saying this planet used to be very pretty. I’m not sure what happened to it though; you don’t hear much about it in the future.”

“Rose? Who’s Rose? I’ve never heard of a Ro-!” She probably would have completed that sentence better if she hadn’t gotten her foot stuck in a mud hole. Jack turned around and actually stood there with the smarmiest grin on his face, “You going to just stand there or help me not get eaten by the earth?”

“Snark gets you nothing, sweetheart,” He did move to help her out of the mud however, “and I don’t suppose you would have heard of Rose. It’s not a very good subject to bring up with the Doctor; not all of his past companions met pleasant endings.”

She finally managed to jerk her foot free, chewing her lip as she thought of the Doctor and how many companions he must have had over the years. Did any of them get dropped off and forgotten like her? Did any of them ever try to get back to the Doctor, and were they successful?

She felt a pang of loneliness; knowing the Doctor, he probably thought he was being noble. Damning himself to loneliness is all well and good just so long as he can save poor innocent _Clara._ The worst thing about it is that she could actually hear him saying something like that too. It’s just so intrinsically _him_ that it infuriates her.

They finally made it through the marsh and around a bend to find a road, to Clara’s infinite relief, “Oh thank god!”

She danced over to the road, not attempting to hide her enthusiasm at all while Jack walked over more calmly, “You know, I would love to see how you react to one of the trenches off of Boshane. They just don’t make you youngsters like they used to… or is that going to?”

Clara pointedly chose to ignore Jacks rambling in favor of skipping up the road and around the bend, “Oh look!”

There, in the tree line was the Tardis; albeit on its side and more than a bit scuffed up but the Tardis nonetheless. Jack came around the corner as she ran to it and attempted to pry the doors open. She banked her fist against the door and kicked the bottom but they wouldn’t open. Jack stopped her from trying to pull the doors open again, “I don’t think that’s going to work. Did you try asking her if you could go in before you started fondling her bits?”

“Fondling? I wasn’t _fondling_ it! It just doesn’t like me, it’s _never_ liked me,” She turned to the Tardis, “Why don’t you like me?”

“Probably because you kicked her,” Jack responded as he knelt over and knocked on the doors, “Hey there, don’t listen to Miss Rude over there. It’s really important that we talk to the doctor, and you’re the safest place to be that we know he’ll return to. I know you can recognize us; we’ve been in you enough.”

Clara gave him a disapproving glance when he grinned lecherously up at her, “Stay classy, Jack.”

Those dimples of his though... Clara might be able to get behind those. Jack continued, “Can we wait for him in the control room?”

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me, you’ll open for him? What did I ever do to you?” She moved out of the way for Jack as he opened the door and held it for her to climb in. She did so, feeling only a little disoriented as the room became vertical on her.

“Again, you kicked her. Do you have a memory problem?” Jack jumped in after her over to the control panel to sit as they prepared to wait, “because I could have sworn _I_ was the old one.”

“So you keep saying but you never did tell me why. You can’t be a day over thirty.” She looked around her at how odd the Tardis looked on the inside now as she waited for Jack to answer. It was really stark and very clinical looking. There was nothing of the mess she was used to and the controls looked a lot more simple; not that she’d know what they did even after it was dumbed down.

_At least it still has the circles on the side. She really did like those circles._

Jack rested his head back and hummed, “I suppose you could say that the Tardis and I are… related.”

She raised her eyebrow at him, “How are you related to a machine.”

“I’m starting to see why the Doctor left you behind…”

“That’s not funny at all,” and it really wasn’t. She was trying very hard to get back to that man, going so far as to follow an apparent crazy man with a toy time machine into an unknown future and an unknown planet just to find him.

He winced, “Right. But in all honesty I wasn’t lying.”

She waited for him to continue and he obliged, “You see, back when the doctor left me the first time… Back when Rose was traveling with the Doctor something bad happened and I had been shot by a Dalek. They’re an enemy of the Doctor. You could say they’re his number one enemy; he fought against them in the Time War. I died.”

She stared at him in disbelief, “If you died, then how are you here talking to me right now?”

He was silent for a moment as he regarded her seriously. She took in his face, his expression and wondered what could happen to cause such a clown of a guy to have an expression like that. He took a deep breath, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, and I don’t know all of what happened that day but Rose…  She did something with the Tardis. The Tardis is… It’s a beautiful, sentient machine. Inside of it, it contains all of time and space and Rose took that inside of herself.  She’s the one who revived me; she left a piece of the Tardis with me; it’s why I can’t die and it’s why I age like a slug.”

“You’re _part_ Tardis?” she asked in disbelief. It certainly explained some things, but…

“No; I’m _part_ … Time stream.” He pursed his lips and looked up, clearly lost in thought.

“But…”

“No. No more, I don’t know anymore and I’d rather not think about where my life is taking me from here.” He replied. He looked over and cocked his head at her and winked, “Besides, I’m sure there’s a better way we could spend this time while we wait for the old Doctor to help get us to the new Doctor. What with us being here, all alone…. With so much space.”

“Not on your life.”

_This is going to be a long, long wait. I hope the Doctor gets back soon._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this is my first attempt at a Doctor Who fanfiction so it's a bit short as I'm trying to get a feel for it... It's my second attempt at fanfiction in general so I really want to get this one right. I made my first mistake by mentioning Castrovalva though, because a lot of stuff happened at that place so I'm glossing over it (you'll find that out how in the next chapter!)  
> If you see a glaring mistake that I've missed, PLEASE mention it to me? I'd like to correct it :)  
> I hope you guys liked this (and if you did, leave kudos?) and I hope to get more to you soon!  
> <3 Otempura


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